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Rohingyas Crossing Over into Assam

GUWAHATI: The Rohingya Muslims are often classified as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. In recent years, thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled their country fearing for their lives.

As persecuted Rohingya Muslims flee Myanmar, some of them have also found their way into Assam. Official sources said that so far 28 Rohingya Muslims have been apprehended in Assam and they are currently being lodged in detention camps.

The six detention camps – Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Tezpur – currently have 490 inmates, of which 163 are Hindus and 372 Muslims.

The ethnic Rohingyas of Myanmar’s west coast are considered one of the most persecuted groups in the world. Three years ago, religious and ethnic tensions between the Rohingya Muslims and the Rakhine Buddhists, who make up the majority of the population, escalated into widespread and deadly rioting.

Frequent flare-ups of violence, backed by militant Buddhist groups, have forced thousands of Rohingya Muslims into camps; unwanted in the country many have called home for generations. Rejected everywhere they seek safety, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people are now living in limbo across Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, the Assam government has sought some “clarification” from the Central government on the notification regularizing stay of minority migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“The Central government has sent the notification to the State government. We have sought some clarifications before it can be implemented,” said a senior Home department official. Implementation of the notification would mean that the 163 Hindu migrants lodged in the detention camps would be set free.